Interdisciplinary Cluster Courses
Cluster courses provide opportunities to study special themes or
historical periods from the perspective of two or more different disciplines at
once. Each course is developed to integrate with one or more courses in other
fields to show how different disciplines complement each other to form a more
comprehensive understanding of a given topic. All courses within a given
cluster meet at the same time, so the students can all meet together periodically to
explore the cluster theme. In some clusters, the classes meet together all the
time so that the different disciplines are integrated throughout the course.
As part of the B.A. and B.S. humanities area requirement, the College requires that all students, including humanities majors, take an
interdisciplinary cluster course (specially designated courses taught by faculty from at least
two different departments, one of which must be in the Division of Humanities
or the Department of History). Students should also discuss with their advisers how cluster courses fit into their personal degree programs. As a general guide, individual courses in each cluster:
- Count toward fulfillment of the humanities requirement for the B.A., B.S., and B.A./M.D. degrees.
- Count, if they are numbered 300 or above, toward the 36 junior-senior hours of electives required for graduation.
- Count toward fulfillment of the departmental requirements for majors in the field in which the course is taken.
- Can be taken for graduate credit if numbered 300 or above, with departmental approval.
The following is a partial list of cluster courses now available. There are no
prerequisites for any of these courses. See entries under the relevant
departments for more detailed explanations of the contents of each course.
- Aesthetic Issues in the Arts
Art History 300CJ
Conservatory of Music 497CJ
English 300CJ
Philosophy 400CJ
- African and African American Women and Creativity
Art 300CF
Arts and Sciences 300CF
Sociology 303CF
- The African Diaspora in the Arts and Culture
Art 300CB
Art 300CD
Communication Studies 400CB
- American Social Film: Silver Screen
and the American Dream
American Studies 300CD
Communication Studies 402CD
English 300CD
History 400CP/500CD
- Ancient World/Cinema
Classics 300CY
English 300CY
History 400CY/500CY
- Biological and Ethical Issues in Aging
Natural Science 430PC
Philosophy 401PC
- Body Images in Medicine and the Arts
Arts and Sciences 304CM
Art 300CM
Communication Studies 400C
- Clio and the Other Muses: History and Culture in 5th Century Athens
Classics 300CS
English 300CS
History 400CS
- Courts and Culture in the High Middle Ages
English 400CF
History 400CF/
500CF
- Culture, Kultur, Civilisation: Identity Formation in the Middle Class
Foreign Language 400CI
History 400CI
- Healing and the Arts
Art 300CH
Arts and Sciences 490CH
Conservatory of Music 300CH
Theatre 300CH
- History of Russian Culture
Foreign Language 300CS
History 400CS/500CS
Political Science 300CS
Theatre 300CS
- Images of the Human Body in the Renaissance
Art History 300CA
English 400CA/
591CA
History 400CA/
500CA
- Introduction to Women's Studies
American Studies 400CW
Anthropology 300CL/580CL
History 400CW/500CW
Sociology 303CW/580CL
- Issues in Death and Dying
English 300CO
Philosophy 400CO
Sociology 303CO
- Mexico, Central America and the Human Condition
Economics 300CM
Foreign Language 300CM
History 300CM/500CM
- The Practice and Study of Creativity
Conservatory of Music 497CH
Theatre 401CH
- Radical Changes Since 1945
Art History 400CE
Communication Studies 403CE
English 300CE
History 400CE/500CE
- Religion in America
History 400CT
Sociology 303CP
- Roman Revolution: History and Culture from Gracci to Augustus
Classics 300CR
English 300CR
- Women in the Ancient World
Classics 300CB
Students should also look for other specially designated cluster course offerings under one of the following course numbers:
Art 300, Economics 300CS, English 300, Philosophy 400, Political Science 300, Psychology 300CS, Sociology 303, and Theatre 300CR.
